فهرست مطالب
International Journal of Medical Laboratory
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Feb 2022
- تاریخ انتشار: 1401/01/08
- تعداد عناوین: 8
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Pages 1-5Background and Aims
Identifying meningitis-causing bacteria play an important role in selecting the appropriate antibiotic vaccine and reducing the complications of meningitis. The present study aimed to identify the most common bacteria causing meningitis in patients referred to Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman.
Materials and MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 60 patients have participated. A 3-5 ml of cerebrospinal fluid specimens were obtained from each patient. Traditional and molecular methods identified bacterial agents.
Results and ConclusionsTwenty-eight females and thirty-two males participated in the study. Bacterial agents were recovered from 33.3% of the samples. Streptococcus pneumonia (65%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (10%), Klebsiella (10%), Enterococcus (5%), Escherichia coli (5%) and cocci gram-positive (5%) were the microbial agents identified in this study. In the present study, the detection rate of bacteria was low. Streptococcus pneumonia, especially the 18CFBA serotype, was the most common bacteria.
Keywords: Bacteria, Kerman, Meningitis -
Pages 6-16
Recently, it has been proven that cartilage healing is difficult. The most commonly used treatments are autogenously cartilage grafting and allogeneic bone grafting, but grafts cannot fully meet treatment goals because of source, price, safety, and other concerns. Thus, a combination of biological materials and tissue engineering technology has become a recent trend in studies. Among the studies performed on tissue engineering cartilage materials are hydrogels that exhibit biological activity, post-decomposition adsorption, flexibility, and easy preparation. Cell-containing hydrogels are often used in cartilage tissue engineering because of their biocompatibility, ease of use, and ability to adapt to different defects. Hydrogels are used to mimic extracellular matrices. Although multiple materials can configure and form hydrogels, hyaluronic acid and its derivatives are distinguished. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an extracellular molecule with several physical and biological functions found in many tissues, including cartilage. HA is formed in several biomaterial systems and scaffolding. HA hydrogels have many interests, including increased adhesion, cell proliferation, and wound healing. In addition, they represent adequate biological acting for stimulating a microenvironment for the survival of cells. However, their disadvantages include a slow degradation rate and low mechanical properties. Here, HA-based hydrogels and their applications in cartilage tissue engineering are briefly reviewed.
Keywords: Cartilage regeneration, Chondrogenesis, Hyaluronic acid, In vitro, Scaffold -
Pages 17-25Background and Aims
In the current study, two bacteriophages were isolated from the wastewater sources and characterized by lytic activity against the Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) bacterium.
Materials and Methods50 wastewater samples were collected from the disposal sites. The phages were isolated from the treated samples using the double agar overlay method with L. monocytogenes as the host bacterium. Plaque morphology, temperature, pH, titration of phage lysate, host range, and scanning electron microscopic morphology were used to characterize the isolated phages.
ResultsBacteriophage was found in two samples taken from wastewater treatment plants. Phages were proliferated and released under optimal bacterial growth conditions at pH 7; 37 °C in 36-hour incubation. A 10:1 ratio of bacterial cells to phage produced the greatest lytic ability. The highest phage titrated under optimal conditions was estimated at 9×109 pfu/ml. The scanning electron microscopic image revealed a bacteriophage morphology corresponding to the head and tail group. The host range observations demonstrated that L. monocytogenes were unique to the isolated phage. The elimination of L. monocytogenes growth in milk and whey samples revealed that this bacteriophage targeted bacteria and resulted in a 75% reduction in bacterial contamination.
ConclusionThe results suggest that the phages obtained from L. monocytogenes may be utilized to combat this pathogen in dairy, agri-food, wastes, and other associated infections.
Keywords: Bacteriophage, Food safety, Listeria monocytogenes, Phage therapy, Wastewater -
Pages 26-33Background and Aims
Due to a wide variety of causes, various bacteria can acquire resistance to antibiotics. This study investigated the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the etiologic bacterial agents of various infections in patients referred to three hospitals in Yazd city, Iran.
Materials and MethodsA total of 336 clinical specimens including wound discharge, sputum, blood, bronchial fluid, pleural fluid, ascitic fluid, synovial fluid, stool, and trachea secretions were collected in three hospitals. Microbiological culturing in order to grow and identify the causative bacteria were performed. Antibiotic susceptibility determinations were done by the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method.
ResultAmong all organisms isolated, Escherchia coli, Staphylococcus. aureus, Staphylococcus. suprophyticus, Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., Staphylococcus. epidermidis and Entrococcus spp. were the most prevalent, respectively. The Escherchia coli isolates were the most antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacterium. It seems that the same organisms recovered from different hospital wards show different antibiotic susceptibility patterns.
ConclusionThe increased prevalence of resistant organisms in different hospitals may reflect a lack of proper antibiotic usage policy, resulting in the prolonged and indiscriminate use of antimicrobial agents.
Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility, Kirby bauer method, Microbiological culture -
Pages 34-46Background and Aims
Congenital factor V (FV) deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder with 1 in 1000000 persons in the general population. Individuals with FV activity <1% and very low FV antigen levels are characterized as severe FV deficient patients. Little data is available about the molecular basis of this bleeding disorder in Iran.
Materials and MethodsWe analyzed 7 unrelated Iranian FV deficient patients regarding clinical manifestation and genotype. The molecular dynamic simulation was carried out to analyze the effect of novel mutations on the FV structure.
ResultsAll cases had recurrence epistaxis, oral cavity bleeding, and hematoma were frequent in our patients. The molecular analysis led to the identification of three already reported mutations (IVS 19+3 A>T, 4014-4017 del TCAG and p.P419R) and four novel mutations (IVS9-1 G>C, Y478D, L1844P, I1556T) in the FV gene of our patients. According to the molecular modeling results, it seems that in the two mutations Y478D and I1556T, an increased number of H-bonds in mutant proteins compared to natural ones reduces the flexibility and increases the stability of the mutant proteins. The results also show that in L1844P and I1556T mutations, the total solvent accessible surface area (both hydrophilic and hydrophobic) significantly decreases compared to the natural variants.
ConclusionIdentifying the causative mutation in patients with FV deficiency helps to determine the molecular basis of this bleeding disorder and gain more insight into explaining the variable clinical manifestations of patients with FV deficiency.
Keywords: Clinical manifestation, Factor V deficiency, Molecular dynamic, Mutation, Simulation -
A Root Cause Analysis of Haemolysis Encountered in Leuco-filtration of Stored Packed Red Cells UnitsPages 47-54Background and Aims
Leukoreduction of blood components has reduced the incidence of transfusion-associated adverse events. Leucofiltration is the most effective method of leukoreduction. We encountered haemolysis in a series of leucofiltered units. This stressed our precious inventory, added to financial loss, increased our turn-around time to issue leucofiltered blood units, and placed doubts on the safety of our leucofiltered products. A systematic root cause analysis was done to identify the reason for haemolysis.
Materials and MethodsA total of 69 units were leucofiltered during the study period, of which 13 units showed lysis following filtration.
ResultsThis study warranted a review of our existing leucofiltration standard operating procedures to keep strict adherence to manufacturer instructions to ensure quality in the end product.
ConclusionsAmong the leucofiltered units showing hemolysis, 62% were due to higher temperature, 23% due to increased time for filtration, and 15% due to increased holding time of red cell units.
Keywords: Haemolysis, Leucofiltration, Packed red cells, Root cause analysis, Storage, Temperature -
Pages 55-64Background and Aims
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine and metabolic disease in females of reproductive age and is a significant infertility cause. Inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PCOS. The present study evaluated whether sitagliptin, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, attenuates inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin(IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-1β, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in a rat model of PCOS.
Materials and MethodsTwenty-two female adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, PCOS model, PCOS+sitagliptin (25 mg/kg), and PCOS+sitagliptin (50 mg/kg). PCOS was induced by injection of estradiol valerate, intraperitoneally. Sitagliptin was gavaged daily for 30 days to both groups of animals. After the treatment period, blood and ovaries tissue were collected to analyze inflammatory parameters.
ResultsThe mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TGF-β, and TNF-α in the PCOS model group were markedly elevated compared with the control group (p<0.01). These parameters' mRNA levels were reduced in the sitagliptin treatment groups compared with the PCOS group (p<0.01). Also, the serum concentration of CRP in the PCOS group was more than the control. This increase significantly decreased in groups treated with sitagliptin compared with the PCOS group.
ConclusionThe presented study suggested that the protective effects of sitagliptin on PCOS may be due to its inhibitory effect on expression and inflammatory markers' levels.
Keywords: C-reactive protein, Interleukin-6, Polycystic ovary syndrome, Sitagliptin, Transforming growth factor-β, Tumor necrosis factor-α -
Pages 65-72Background and Aims
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common type of congenital disability. Copy number variations (CNVs) have been found as one of the genetic etiology of non-syndromic CHD, and researchers have detected several pathogenic CNVs in patients with cardiac defects.
Materials and MethodsIn the present study, 70 patients with familial (20 patients) and sporadic (50 patients) non-syndromic CHD were evaluated to find whether CNVs in the GATA4, NKX2-5, TBX-5, CREL, BMP4 genes, and 22q11.2 region contribute to the pathogenesis of non-syndromic CHD. We have used the Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) technique as a molecular method to identify CNVs in predefined loci.
ResultsNormal MLPA results were demonstrated for GATA4, NKX2-5, TBX-5, CRELD, and BMP4 genes for all sporadic and familial cases. However, we found three patients with imbalances for the 22q11.2 region. One patient with 22q11.2 deletion showed tetralogy of fallot, and the other had ventricular septal defects/ pulmonary atresia/ multiple aortopulmonary collateral arteries. A duplication of the 22q11.2 region was detected in one patient with patent ductus arteriosus.
ConclusionIdentifying genomic imbalances in 6% of the non-syndromic sporadic patients indicates that recurrent CNVs could be associated with non-syndromic CHD. It seems that it is the first CNV analysis using MLPA carried out in Iranian patients with cardiac defects. We suggest that 22q11.2 imbalances should be considered in patients with cardiac lesions to provide an accurate diagnosis and appropriate genetic counseling in affected families.
Keywords: CNV, Familial CHD, MLPA, Non-syndromic CHD, Sporadic CHD